Senior Steve Bartholomew (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township) surpassed NCAA regional qualifying standards in the discus throw and hammer throw, setting a new school record in the latter event, as the Valparaiso men’s track and field team competed Saturday at the Puma Invitational in Rensselaer, Ind.

Bartholomew registered a mark of 194’9” in the hammer throw, greater than three feet past his previous school record in the event, and surpassed the regional qualifying standard by over eight feet. He followed with a toss of 169’10” in the discus throw to reach the qualifying mark in that event as well and came up just six inches shy of his school record.

“It was just an awesome all-around day for Steve,” said Crusader head coach Ryan Moore. “I’m happy to see him qualify for regionals in both events, especially after taking a hiatus from throwing the discus last year. He still has a lot of potential upside though, and our goal for him by the end of the season remains an Olympic qualifying mark in the hammer.”

Philip Lohrmann(Battle Ground, Wash./Battle Ground [Clark C.C.]) also earned an event victory on the day in the pole vault, clearing 13’2” for the win. A number of other Crusaders set season-best marks as well.Jarrett Mickens (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie) leapt a career-best 43’1” in the triple jump, while Erik Lindamood (Bealeton, Va./Liberty) registered a mark of 46’3 ½” in the shot put, both good for second-place finishes.Dustin Lawrence (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) added a third-place showing in the javelin throw with a distance of 131’7”.

On the track, Ryan Ruppel (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) led the way with a pair of third-place finishes, finishing the 100m dash in 11.81 seconds and the 200m dash in 23.38 seconds.Jared Snell (Hampton, Iowa/Hampton-Dumont) recorded a third-place finish of his own in the 1,500m run, crossing the line in 4:30.09.

“I think this prepares us well for the weeks ahead,” said Moore. “It gave us a chance to rest some of our athletes and make sure we head into the Horizon League Championships in a couple weeks in as good of shape as possible.”

Valparaisoreturns to the track next week at the Hillsdale Gina Relays in Hillsdale, Mich. The four-day meet starts on Wednesday, April 23 at 2 p.m. CDT.